MRI Results 11 Months Post Hernia Surgery

Pain & Rehab Forum [Moderated]
1

Hello Docs/Rehab Team,

I had surgery in June 2025 to repair bilateral inguinal hernias and an umbilical hernia. The recovery was brutal! I even made the trip to Cincinnati to see Dr. Miles for his help. Rehab has been like a roller coaster and it seemed like the pain was keeping me from progressing—I knew something just didn’t feel right. Thus, my surgeon ordered an MRI to rule out a true sports hernia (which he says really isn’t a hernia) or other issues. Here is the impression:

Impression

1. There is no evidence of an acute fracture identified on today’s examination.

2. There is subtle heterogeneous signal intensity identified within the rectus abdominis aponeurosis insertion at the pubic symphysis bilaterally with mild associated edema, concerning for subtle underlying moderate grade strain/partial tears.

3. There does appear to be an obliquely oriented tear involving the anterior superior aspect of the left acetabular labrum.

4. There also appears to be a subtle obliquely oriented tear involving the anterior superior aspect of the right acetabular labrum.

5. There are likely scarring/postsurgical changes identified within the left inguinal region, possibly related to a prior hernia repair within this region.

6. There is a 0.6 cm T2 hyperintense cyst along the anterior aspect of the urinary bladder which likely represents a urachal cyst. Please note that this finding predisposes the patient to adenocarcinoma and further evaluation with a urology consultation is suggested. This finding was tracked in the electronic medical records as a yellow critical result for the incidental finding discussed within impression point #6. Dictated by: Kyle Pfeifer on 5/13/2026 11:10 Electronically signed by: Kyle Pfeifer on 5/13/2026 11:10

I appreciate if you could help me to make sense of these findings 1-5 in regards to the sports hernia? Does it look like I can rehab these injuries and avoid surgery? Also, I am particularly concerned with #6 (I am going to consult with the urologist).

Thank you for your help! I have blessed by your generosity and content.

Paul

1 Like
2

Hi Paul,

Sorry to hear about this journey you’ve had so far. Definitely agree with the urology consult on #6 – but regarding 1-5, I do not see anything that would make me jump to another surgery any time soon.

Since you have an established relationship with Dr. Miles, I’d give strong consideration to working with him moving forward for rehab guidance, unless you have an alternative trusted clinician to guide that path.

3

Thank you for the reply and for settling me at ease! I am sorry for the alarmist nature of my post—I just saw the findings and when you read about tears, it can mess with your head! I even read an older 2018 BBM forum post where an orthopedic said that hip labrum tears could not be rehabbed and needed surgery.

I have a question pertaining point to #2, when it says “concerning for subtle underlying moderate grade strain/partial tears.” The terms “subtle” and “moderate” are confusing. When I researched moderate strains, it seemed to indicate a grade 2 where the muscle (at the tendon) is halfway detached from the insertion site—to a layman, this sounds serious, but the the term “subtle” seems to contradict this statement. Could you please help me to understand what this is saying, as you do not seem to be too concerned about it?

In addition, does the current evidence indicate that hip labrum tears can be healed through proper rehab? What does the evidence say regarding rehab vs surgery outcomes?

Thank you again for your help! I did reach out to Dr. Miles as well.

-Paul

4

Hey Paul,

Unfortunately it’s not easy to confidently comment on the interpretation of these findings without a lot of other context – for example, you didn’t mention the specific nature, location, or trajectory your symptoms, for us to see whether the “localization” on imaging makes sense to explain them. This is the kind of thing that we get much further into the weeds on in consultations – so my honest best advice here is to see what Dr. Miles thinks, since he is most familiar with your case already.

1 Like